Catalyst
by wrongnotes
Summary: Ed and Winry aren't very good at communication. Luckily for them, they have Al to help; though he'd prefer it to not be at four in the morning.


Al loved his brother, he really did, but when he was shaking him awake at four in the morning, "love" wasn't exactly the first word that came to mind.

"Al come on," Ed whined with such fervor that Al would've considered making fun of him for it, if it wasn't four in the morning. "It's important."

"What," Al sat up, throwing aside his covers, "is so important that you felt the need to bug me about it when I need to be up in THREE HOURS?"

Ed rolled his eyes, as if Al were the one overreacting. Unbelievable.

"It's about Winry. I wanna know your opinion on something."

Al groaned, silently saying farewell to any hope of getting those three more hours of sleep. "If you're going to ask me if she likes you again, then yes, Ed, she likes you. You're engaged."

Ed looked strangely offended. "Okay but-" Al groaned even louder. "-what if she's just going along with it because she thinks she has to? I mean, marriage is expected and everything, but Winry's never really been one to go along with expectations, and what if I just made her feel pressured to say yes because she didn't wanna hurt my feelings? Sure I know she likes me because she's always liked me and yeah we kiss and stuff but-"

Al cut him off his rant by throwing a pillow at his face. "If Winry didn't want to marry you, she would've said no. She doesn't lie, brother, you know that." It was better he just said what he needed to to make his brother feel content, just like he had to do every time this happened. Truth knows he'd be at it for hours longer if he tried to brush him off. Ed was never one to vocalize his feelings, and Al noticed that they tended to build up inside of him until finally bursting like a dam in the early hours of the morning. Usually at Al's bedside. It had been sweet the first few times; he was always happy to talk to his brother since the opportunity was rare. Lately, though, Ed's accumulating doubts and worries were starting to lose their charm.

"Well I know that." Ed sighed and sat on the edge of Al's bed, creating a dip that made the blanket uncomfortably snug against his legs.

"Then what's the problem?"

Ed looked lost for a minute, and Al started to wonder if he even knew where he was going with this. "I don't know. I just still don't really get why she'd want to be with me. I mean, she's got this whole business ahead of her, and she's so talented and strong and-" he cut himself off and looked away, face turning so red Al could see it despite the darkness of the room. "Anyways, I don't even do anything anymore, I'm basically a freeloader, hell, I could just be mooching off her for all she knows."

"That doesn't mean she doesn't still like you Ed. I don't think she cares about what you're doing, or the fact that she's way cooler than you," Al winced at the smack on his arm. "She likes you for you, she always has."

"It's just so weird." Ed scrubbed at his eyes. "We're getting married, Al. What the hell. That's what geezers like Mustang are supposed to do, not me."

"I guess you're officially a geezer then. Congratulations, brother." Al smirked.

Ed's shot him a glare. "Do not compare me to that bastard. He can't even hook up with Captain Hawkeye and it's been years now. He'll be in the retirement home before he even makes a move."

Al chuckled at that. It was shocking, to be quite honest, that Ed was able to score a relationship before his former commanding officer. He could imagine the shock among the team once they got the wedding invitations, knowing just how stubborn Ed is and how difficult it must've been for him to finally admit his feelings. Not that he really had a part in that, though. Al wasn't exactly sure what happened, but he had gathered that it had been Winry to make the first move, not his brother. Typical. Ed was stubborn to a fault, and despite always wanting to take charge, he was a hopeless case when it came to romance.

"So if that's it, can you let me go back to bed now?"

Ed tapped his foot vigorously, making Al wonder if he had just downed four cups of coffee before barging into his room. He was practically vibrating with excitement, eyes darting around as if someone was going to sneak up on him at any moment. Al knew he had been worried about the wedding, but he hadn't expected this, even from Ed.

He sat up and scooted next to him, letting his legs dangle off the edge of the bed. "It'll be fine, you know. I don't think I've ever seen two people get along as well as you two."

Ed's eyebrows shot up. "Seriously?! She was bugging me about my automail just a few hours ago!"

"Exactly," Al affirmed. "You're basically married already, by the way you act. You know each other so well you fall into a rhythm of things, just like we do as brothers. It's clear to basically everyone how much you guys love each other, even if it took you two so long to finally realize it."

"I guess you're right," Ed chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "I really like her Al. I just don't want to screw this up."

"You won't, even if you make a complete fool out of yourself." That earned him another slap to the arm, but Al didn't mind.

The months had passed in a whirlwind of wedding preparation, an influx of automail orders, and repeated nights of Al being woken by his paranoid brother. What should've been an occasional bout of chaos became a constant in the Rockbell house, and Al had grown accustomed to it. No matter how many times he reassured Ed, he still managed to be a living bundle of nerves. Even on the Promised Day he hadn't been so jumpy, and Al was starting to wonder how he was still functioning on a day to day basis.

During the day, he would act nonchalant about the whole affair. Claiming "It's no big deal, just some official ceremony or whatever. We already said we gave each other parts of our lives so what difference does a certificate make?" His act of indifference lost a bit of its credibility when his voice wavered as he said it, and Al had to stifle a laugh every time he watched Ed try to act composed.

Winry was no better. Her and Ed would dance around each other as if they were following a script in the days leading up to the wedding, and neither seemed to notice just how nervous the other was. It was like they were both so focused on trying to act normal that they were completely out of touch with reality, oblivious to the other's similar feelings.

Not that acting oblivious was anything new to them, though. Al remembered how they would act when they first started dating, not knowing just how obvious it was to everyone else. They'd play footsie under the table and blush at any comment, stammering excuses to not give themselves away. Neither was good at hiding their emotions when it came to their relationship, and Al found the entire ordeal very amusing while he was recovering.

Now, though, he was just ready for them to get the wedding over with. He knew they'd shift back into normalcy after all the attention had died down, and he was looking forward to finally getting some uninterrupted sleep.

Unfortunately for him, that wish was still out of reach. He was surprised though, to find that Ed wasn't the one who had woken him up. Winry was the one pacing around his room this time, rather than his brother. Al prepared for another long conversation and sat up, not even bothering to complain about being woken up.

"Winry? What's going on?" he asked.

She whipped around with ferocity and crossed her arms. "Your brother's an idiot, Al."

"You don't need to tell me that," Al chuckled, "I've known for awhile."

"I'm being serious! He's acting like he doesn't even want to be around me and the wedding's next week! Did I do something? Is he mad at me?"

"Hold on-" Al tried to speak but Winry was suddenly in his face, eyes wide.

"Well?!"

"I don't know! Why is it that you two always come to me for advice instead of just talking to each other?!" Al finally answered, not wanting to be cut off again.

Winry looked ready to start yelling again before seeming to notice what Al had said. "Wait, Ed comes to you for advice? About me?"

"Yes," Al rolled his eyes, "for months, actually. You'd think I was some sort of love expert."

Winry's face softened. "No kidding? I mean, I know he's a dork, but I didn't think he was that hopeless."

"Trust me, he's come to me for just about everything. Even after getting engaged, he somehow still can't get over the fact that you're in love with him as much as he is with you."

It was shocking, really, how similar Winry's expression was to the ones she spared for admiring automail.

"That idiot, he could've just talked to me."

"You know how he is about expressing his feelings."

Winry scoffed in agreement and the two shifted into silence. Al didn't want to be rude by making her leave, but he was one blink away from falling asleep sitting up. He decided to take charge and finish this while he was still coherent.

"You know he's not mad at you, Winry. He's just nervous out of his mind for the wedding. Pretty sure he thinks he's gonna screw everything up for you."

"He's stupid if he thinks he could ever ruin that." Winry settled herself on the mattress much more gingerly than Ed had. "I just want to see him happy without being stressed about something for once."

"He will be," Al smiled. "Other than when I got my body back, I don't think I've ever seen him as happy as he is when he's with you."

Winry turned away sharply, holding her hands to her cheeks. Even with her back to him, Al noticed the fond smile that crept onto her face, and he couldn't help but do the same. No amount of stubbornness could hide the amount of love Ed and Winry had for each other, even if they shared it in an unconventional manner. Al knew that more than anyone, if his sleepless nights were anything to go by.

"Thanks, Al. I think I understand why Ed always comes to you for advice."

Al suspected it was less that his advice was good, and more that Ed and Winry were just too stubborn to communicate with the other without going to him in advance. Not that he was complaining, though.

It only took his brother's grin on his wedding day to remind him how worthwhile those advice sessions were, and if the payoff was this great, he supposed sleep wasn't so important after all.


End file.
